Yamaha Jet Boat?

[Chocaholic]

We sold our 2018 Tritoon after one year. Simply put, we are not pontoon boat people. Thought the Tritoon with a 150 Yamaha 4 stroke would cover everything. Wrong. So we are in the market for a replacement.

One important criteria is no winterizing. We live on the lake and have a boat lift installed on our dock. We are north of Atlanta so very rarely get a hard freeze. We want to be able to use it year-round. Jet boats meet that criteria, or so I’m told.

Jet boats seem to be becoming all the rage. We have a Yamaha Waverunner that is outstanding. Fast, smooth, reliable. I’m a fan. Does anyone own or have long term experience with their jet boats (essentially a ski boat with two Waverunner engines)?

[onewhippedpuppy]

We have friends with a Yamaha 232, I believe about a 2015. I’ve helped him with some basic maintenance and driven it a few times, along with spending a lot of time drinking beer on his swim platform. I come from sterndrive bowriders, so my perspective is relative to my own boats.

Pros: maintenance is silly easy and there’s almost nothing to do. Also access to the twin engines is great. His 232 has twin 160 HP motors and is genuinely fast. Hole shot is super flat and the boat planes really quickly. Super maneuverable, at low speeds you can turn on your own axis. No real risk of hitting things in shallow water, and no prop to potentially hit when jumping in. The swim platform is one of the best in boating, big and well laid out. Interior seating is very practical as well.

Cons: may just be a personal thing but I HATE the sound. It starts to grate on me after a while compared to my sterndrive V8. You can’t trim the drives which makes rough water more challenging, and the lower freeboard compared to many sterndrive boats makes things worse. I wouldn’t call the interior cheap but the materials and assembly is lower quality than many competitors. Low speed maneuvering is a challenge. While there are no issues with hitting a prop in shallow water, he has managed to suck up two different ski ropes which SUCK to get untangled.

Overall they are a solid option, it just comes down to preference. He loves his and would buy another. Personally I prefer my sterndrive Regal.

[dad911]

l had a 2000 YAMAHA LS 2000. It was fun, fast, but I could watch the fuel gauges drop.

Docking a jet boat, with a current, requires some attention.

[unclebilly]

The Yammy is my next boat. I have a Seadoo Speedster 150 with 215 HP.

It takes 5 minutes or less to winterize. Mine has a closed loop (antifreeze) cooling system.

I just need to get antifreeze into the intercooler with a bilge pump in a pail of propylene glycol.

The nice thing with the Yamaha is that there is an access to the pump from inside the boat to clean out weeds. I’ve had to dive under my boat to do this a few times.

This is me last Sunday. This thing runs all day on 10 gallons.

[drcoastline]

Originally Posted by Chocaholic

We sold our 2018 Tritoon after one year. Simply put, we are not pontoon boat people. Thought the Tritoon with a 150 Yamaha 4 stroke would cover everything. Wrong. So we are in the market for a replacement.

One important criteria is no winterizing. We live on the lake and have a boat lift installed on our dock. We are north of Atlanta so very rarely get a hard freeze. We want to be able to use it year-round. Jet boats meet that criteria, or so I’m told.

Jet boats seem to be becoming all the rage. We have a Yamaha Waverunner that is outstanding. Fast, smooth, reliable. I’m a fan. Does anyone own or have long term experience with their jet boats (essentially a ski boat with two Waverunner engines)?

A jet boat and a pontoon boat are very, very different types of boats. They are at opposite ends of the spectrum.

A pontoon boat is a party barge, very stable, holds a ***** load of people, coolers, etc. Relatively slow and not overly maneuverable.

A jet boat is fast, maneuverable, holds a select few guests. Good for skiing, tubing, wakeboarding.

It seems to me you want a boat that you can take family and friends out, party, ski, tube, get from point A to B reasonably fast and have some comfort?

You might want to take a look at a deck boat. A pontoon boat like deck with lots of seating, coolers and storage in the seats, head (toilet), mounted on a real boat hull. Reasonably fast and maneuverable, capable of pulling skiers, wakeboarders and tubes.

[pavulon]

Originally Posted by drcoastline

A jet boat and a pontoon boat are very, very different types of boats. They are at opposite ends of the spectrum.

A pontoon boat is a party barge, very stable, holds a ***** load of people, coolers, etc. Relatively slow and not overly maneuverable.

Can vividly recall skiing behind my grandpa's pontoon powered by a 75 hp chrysler outboard (a killer outboard in 1973ish). Today:

[unclebilly]

Also, you need to winterize a Yamaha, they are raw water cooled unlike my seadoo

[David]

My next door neighbor has a Yamaha jet boat. I think it’s the 21’. The boat rides great, cruises great, handles rough water pretty well. Of course no prop at the back to concern you win swimming and no prop to worry about in shallow water. I’m very impressed.

[drcoastline]

Originally Posted by pavulon

Can vividly recall skiing behind my grandpa's pontoon powered by a 75 hp chrysler outboard (a killer outboard in 1973ish). Today:

Pavulon, not sure the purpose of your post? I have no doubt you did ski behind your Grandpa's pontoon boat and had fun. I never said you couldn't ski, tube, wakeboard behind one. It just doesn't perform the task very well. And what is the purpose of the fastest pontoon boat? To prove there is someone dumb enough to grossly over power a boat, make it completely unsafe, risk the lives of everyone on board or near that thing just to prove you can make it go fast? Oh and if you notice it is going in an arrow straight line. Still not very maneuverable.

I have no doubt someone could take a pontoon boat from Cape May, NJ to the Baltimore Canyon some 88 miles off shore and go fishing and make it back. Doesn't seem to me to be the best choice on a reasonable compromise.

In my younger days I have tubed behind a 36 foot MacGregor Catamaran and water skied behind a 42 foot Post Sport fisherman. It was fun but neither boat performed the task very well.

So not sure your post helps Chocaholic with his question?

[pavulon]

Originally Posted by drcoastline

Pavulon, not sure the purpose of your post? I have no doubt you did ski behind your Grandpa's pontoon boat and had fun. I never said you couldn't ski, tube, wakeboard behind one. It just doesn't perform the task very well. And what is the purpose of the fastest pontoon boat? To prove there is someone dumb enough to grossly over power a boat, make it completely unsafe, risk the lives of everyone on board or near that thing just to prove you can make it go fast? Oh and if you notice it is going in an arrow straight line. Still not very maneuverable.

I have no doubt someone could take a pontoon boat from Cape May, NJ to the Baltimore Canyon some 88 miles off shore and go fishing and make it back. Doesn't seem to me to be the best choice on a reasonable compromise.

In my younger days I have tubed behind a 36 foot MacGregor Catamaran and water skied behind a 42 foot Post Sport fisherman. It was fun but neither boat performed the task very well.

So not sure your post helps Chocaholic with his question?

Sorry. Was unaware of a peer review panel. Carry on.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Jet boat is a pretty broad term. You can get a little 15’ runabout jet boat that seats six, or a 25’ jet boat that seats 15 and supports every possible form of water sports. My friend’s jet boat will seat 12 in comfort. I also believe his raw water is a gravity drain so no winterizing action is required.

[Chocaholic]

Originally Posted by unclebilly

Also, you need to winterize a Yamaha, they are raw water cooled unlike my seadoo

Going to visit the Yamaha dealership later today to get clarification. It rarely gets cold enough to freeze water here, unlike Alberta! I’d been told you can blow out the water with a few dry-land revs, like our Waverunner. Going no smaller than 21 ft....hopefully 24 if we can find one for a good price.

We’ve considered a deck boat with an outboard (again, no need to winterize) with only two possible drawbacks. 1. Relatively shallow/flat hull makes for a very rough ride in choppy water. 2. They’re just plain ugly. Let’s face it, boats, like motorcycles and sports cars are an indulgence. As such, one that’s easy on the eyes is absolutely an important consideration.

Lastly, yes, we’ve tubed and wakeboarded behind the Tritoon...it certainly had enough juice for that, but it’s definitely not the same as doing so behind an much more powerful deep V hulled boat.

[unclebilly]

Originally Posted by Chocaholic

Going to visit the Yamaha dealership later today to get clarification. It rarely gets cold enough to freeze water here, unlike Alberta! I’d been told you can blow out the water with a few dry-land revs, like our Waverunner. Going no smaller than 21 ft....hopefully 24 if we can find one for a good price.

Please post what you discover. I’m sold on a Yamaha either way. The fit and finish everywhere on these is amazing.

[drcoastline]

Originally Posted by Chocaholic

Going to visit the Yamaha dealership later today to get clarification. It rarely gets cold enough to freeze water here, unlike Alberta! I’d been told you can blow out the water with a few dry-land revs, like our Waverunner. Going no smaller than 21 ft....hopefully 24 if we can find one for a good price.

We’ve considered a deck boat with an outboard (again, no need to winterize) with only two possible drawbacks. 1. Relatively shallow/flat hull makes for a very rough ride in choppy water. 2. They’re just plain ugly. Let’s face it, boats, like motorcycles and sports cars are an indulgence. As such, one that’s easy on the eyes is absolutely an important consideration.

Lastly, yes, we’ve tubed and wakeboarded behind the Tritoon...it certainly had enough juice for that, but it’s definitely not the same as doing so behind an much more powerful deep V hulled boat.

True most are downright ugly, For me most new boats are ugly. They all look like Ostrich eggs, Clorox bottles or a New Balance sneaker. Agree the easier on the eyes the better. That being said some decks boats are better looking than others and not all have flat bottoms. Some have a V or a cat hull. A longer water line length will help flatten out the ride, especially in a chop.

[Chocaholic]

Well, it was a fruitful visit to MarineMax. They sell Mastercraft, Sea Ray, Yamaha and a few others. Interestingly he said they can’t keep Yamaha’s in stock. 242’s are the biggest sellers and they were sold out...except one 24’ 2017 242 Limited S model with two 180 hp engines, 80 hours on it that came in on trade a couple hours before we arrived. It was bought new and serviced there and carries factory warranty until April 2020. 360 hp ought to be adequate!

Bottom line...it’s now sold also. To us. Still needs to go through detail and I’m having them put in new batteries. Heading out of town so will be a week before we get it. They’ll deliver it to us and handle any warranty issues that come up on our dock. It was raining when we were there so these are the only pics so far. More to come post delivery...

[drcoastline]

Nice good luck with it.

[unclebilly]

Awesome!

[billybek]

Nice! Congrats.
More pictures in the water on a sunny day please.

[Chocaholic]

Well, it took a couple weeks but she was delivered yesterday. As expected a sleepless night, so up and down to the dock with the sunrise. Almost no breeze, lake was like glass...perfect.

Took her out for some quality time. A few observations.

-Power/acceleration is awesome. Up on plane in 2 or 3 seconds tops. 360hp is more than adequate.
-under full throttle the engines scream, but quiet down considerably once on plane.
-handling is similar to an I/O but not exactly. Hard to describe but it will take some practice to dock the boat confidently.
-fit and finish is very nice throughout. Bimini top took some time to figure out, but we have that nailed.

Haven’t pulled any skiers or tubes yet, but expect that to be a piece of cake. So far, so good. Happy camper as of now. And, it even fit on the boat lift!

[onewhippedpuppy]

Congrats! Nothing better than a day on the lake. I believe Yamaha is the #1 selling boat brand, so you’re in good company.